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“Hello, Nicky.”
“Maura?” He didn’t hide his surprise.
“I need a tiny favor,” I said with forced lightness.
The other end of the line was silent.
“Have I rendered you speechless?” I asked and pulled the phone away from my ear to make sure the call was still connected.
“You’ve just surprised me, yet again,” he finally said.
“Why? Because I was kidnapped by Aryans a few days ago?”
He chuckled. “Two nights ago, I received a call from Jameson Coleman of all people. He told me what happened and about the large amount of money the king of the Irish is offering for his princess’s safe return.”
“Is the money the reason you haven’t allowed Stefan’s people into your territory?” I asked.
I could hear his smile through the phone as he spoke. “If I didn’t like you, I would answer yes.”
“So why’d you say no?”
“My territory is big, and I have a lot of people within it. The last thing we need are a bunch of Quinns searching aimlessly on De Luca soil and accidentally running into one of my people, who may or may not be holding onto a grudge against the Irish. If someone dies on either side and the other is responsible, it won’t matter anymore how much I like you.”
That made sense. “Just so you know, that money is no longer on the table.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s no longer on the table, Nicky,” I repeated, my voice turning serious.
He huffed a laugh. “Alright, Maura. What’s this favor?”
I took a leap of faith because what choice did I have? “Can you trace this call and tell me where I am?”
“You don’t know where you are?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I just need an address, Nicky. Can you trace the call or not?”
“I can do that,” he said. “What do I get for this favor?”
I held back my sigh. “Why ask, Nicky? You already know what you want.”
“Let’s have dinner again.”
“As a friend?”
“As a friend,” he agreed.
“Fine.”
“Give me a moment.” I could hear him moving around. Then he began speaking to someone in Italian. A few minutes passed until he said, “You’re definitely in New York.”
“Address, please?”
Whoever was helping Nicoli trace the call said the address loud enough for me to hear.
“Great. Don’t tell Stefan.” I hung up and immediately called Brenna.
She answered on the first ring. “I’m almost to New York.”
